1,721,253 research outputs found
New developments in packaging of eggs to improve safety and quality
No full textThe correct choice of the packaging system is a key factor for maintaining high quality characteristics of eggs during storage. In this chapter, the fundamental aspects of shell egg packaging are reviewed.
In particular, a possible explanation of critical issues will be discussed, in order to offer an innovative solution of active packaging through the combination of CO2 atmosphere and humidity absorber.
The proposed solution permits better maintenance of egg freshness during storage with the contemporaneous increase/modulation of its functionality
Non-destructive assessment of kiwifruit physico-chemical parameters to optimise the osmotic dehydration process: A study on FT-NIR spectroscopy
Full text linkNon-destructive rapid method based on FT-NIR spectroscopy is assessed to predict the processing response of raw materials at different ripening stages. During osmotic dehydration (61.5% sucrose solution, 5 h) ripe and unripe kiwifruits were analysed with FT-NIR spectroscopy and the most representative physico-chemical parameters to osmotic dehydration (dry matter, soluble solids content, water self-diffusion coefficient and firmness) were assessed by destructive measurements. Predictive models were successfully built by means of partial least square regression (PLSR) analysis (R2 > 0.772, test set validations) for all the four parameters destructively measured. The application of vector normalisation pre-processing was critical to eliminate spectral information that did not relate to the OD process. FT-NIR spectroscopy can successfully predict the evolution of kiwifruit physico-chemical parameters during osmotic dehydration. Thus it can be used as a tool to tune online the process parameters (e.g. time and temperature) to obtain a standardised final product starting from non-homogeneous raw materials.Fil: Santagapita, Patricio Roman. Università di Bologna; Italia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Industrias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Tylewicz, Urszula. Università di Bologna; ItaliaFil: Panarese, Valentina. Università di Bologna; ItaliaFil: Rocculi, Pietro. Università di Bologna; ItaliaFil: Dalla Rosa, Marco. Università di Bologna; Itali
Strategies to improve food functionality: Structure-property relationships on high pressures homogenization, vacuum impregnation and drying technologies
No full textBackground: The study areas in food process and products have evolved mainly from safety to other topics such as quality, environment and health. The improvement of food products is now directed towards ensuring nutritional and specific functional benefits. The processes are directed to ensure the quality and safety of environmentally friendly food products produced optimizing the use of resources, minimally affecting or even enhancing their nutritional and beneficial characteristics. Scope and approach: The effect of HPH, VI and DT on bioactive compounds have been reviewed, focusing on the structure changes produced and its relationship on the product functionality, as well as on the parameters and the strategies used to quantify and increase the achieved functionality. Key findings and conclusions: Applying HPH leads to structural changes that improve the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. The VI operation allows the incorporation of bioactive compounds into natural structures, taking advantage of both the protective effect of these ones and the synergistic effect of certain compounds. The negative effects related to the application of extreme temperatures in DT operations can be minimized by incorporating ingredients that protect structural elements or create protective structures. Management of food processes in an adequate way can contribute clearly to maintain and even increase the functionality of the products in which they are applied. The knowledge of the relations structure-properties-process is a key element necessary to achieve this objective
Study of Structure-Property-Process relations in real functional FOODs FoodSPProcess PIEF-GA-2013-626643 Marie Curie Action 7FWP
No full textIn the context of current economic and social changes, the research in the agri-food area should aim, among other things, to the optimization of products and processes. The improvement of the food products must be directed towards ensuring nutritional and specific functional benefits. Regarding the improvement of processes, they should ensure the quality and safety of environmentally friendly food products produced optimizing the use of resources.
A research activity focused on fundamental analysis of the structure-property-process and directed towards the innovation and technological improvement of the processes so that the results can be used directly by the agri-food companies will help to achieve these challenges.
The overall goal of this work has been to go in-depth on the study of any type of interactions that can be established between trehalose, antioxidant activity compounds, probiotic microorganisms and cellular structure of fruits determining the effect of homogenization pressures and drying temperatures in these interactions, for the technologically improvement of process and functionality of two groups of innovative natural functional foods with antioxidant and/or probiotic effect:
- Natural juices
- Dehydrated fruits that include the functional juice in their own structural matrix.
Raw materials used for the development of functional food have been:
1. Mandarin juice (cv. Ortanique) is widely used and consumed all over the world, its beneficial properties are well known. The Ortanique cultivated variety is very reach in flavonoids content.
2. Apple (cv. Granny Smith) is widely consumed all over the world; its high porosity ensures an impregnation of at least 20 %. This cultivated variety is very easy to find in supermarkets with quite constant physico-chemical properties during all the year.
3. Trehalose. Disaccharide to be used due to its protective properties.
4. Probiotic microorganism (Lactobacillus salivarius spp. salivarius) with effect against Helicobacter pylori infection.
Process operations used in the technological studies have been:
a. Dynamic high pressure homogenization;
b. Vacuum impregnation;
c. Hot air drying.
The vacuum impregnation of a fruit or vegetable porous structure permits the preparation of a fortified functional food without subjecting the product to high temperatures. For this aim, high pressure homogenization can improve the technological and functional characteristics of the liquid media introduced into the porous structure. Finally, drying technologies allow obtaining a product with a long shelf life and specific structural features.
The study of the effects of these technologies, alone or in combination, on the bioactive compounds of the products in which they are applied is very interesting. Particularly it is noteworthy to take into account the influence of product structure changes on this effec
Moisture adsorption behaviour of biscuit during storage investigated by using a new Dynamic Dewpoint method
No full textThe changes in moisture adsorption isotherms of commercial biscuits during storage were investigated by means of a rapid Dynamic Dewpoint Isotherms (DDIs) method. Moreover, the relationships between the changes in moisture content and some quality characteristics of biscuits (moisture, aw, peroxide value - PV and texture) were studied during 92 days of storage at 35°C. GAB model was used to fit the experimental sorption behaviours. During storage, moisture content and aw of biscuits increased and the obtained isotherms showed modifications in behaviour and shape. Significant changes were observed in PV values and texture, particularly during the first 40 days of storage. The monolayer moisture content, obtained by the BET equation, significantly increased during storage from 1.473 to 2.080 g water 100 g db-1, probably because of the increase in the active sites for water binding due to the chemical and physical changes of the main components, induced by product ageing
Food processing technology as a mediator of functionality. Structure-property-process relationships
Full text linkDuring the last years, the food industry has been facing technical and economic changes both in society and in the food processingpractices, paying high attention to food products that meet the consumers ́ demands. In this direction, the study areas in food process andproducts have evolved mainly from safety to other topics such as quality, environment or health. The improvement of the food productsis now directed towards ensuring nutritional and specific functional benefits. Regarding the processes evolution, they are directed toensure the quality and safety of environmentally friendly food products produced optimizing the use of resources, minimally affecting oreven enhancing their nutritional and beneficial characteristics. The product structure both in its raw form and after processing plays animportant role maintaining, enhancing and delivering the bioactive compounds in the appropriate target within the organism. The aim ofthis review is to make an overview on some synergistic technologies that can constitute a technological process to develop functionalfoods, enhancing the technological and/or nutritional functionality of the food products in which they are applied. More concretely, theeffect of homogenization, vacuum impregnation and drying operations on bioactive compounds have been reviewed, focusing on the
structure changes produced and its relationship on the product functionality, as well as on the parameters and the strategies used toquantify and increase the achieved functionality
Finite element model to study the thawing of packed frozen vegetables as influenced by working environment temperature
No full textFreezing is the most common process for long-time preservation of food. In order to avoid changes of texture, colour or flavour, the frozen products should not be subjected to temperature fluctuations; however, in between the packaging and cold storage steps, the products are frequently subjected to routine controls at an environment temperature of about 10 °C, which risk inducing a heating of the frozen foods. To study the effect of environment temperature on heat transfer inside frozen foods a parametric finite element model capable of describing the conduction and convection phenomena, inside and on the surface of the packages, was developed and validated for three products (peas, spinach cubes and grilled aubergines). The initial and final thawing temperatures were measured by using a differential scanning calorimeter. Acceptable agreement was obtained between numerical and experimental results with a maximum error of 1.8 °C. The relation between calculated product temperatures, environment temperature and time was investigated and a good fit was obtained (R2 > 0.97). Furthermore, specific relations between time required to reach the initial thawing temperature and the ambient temperature, were determined. The model could be used for other different vegetable products by changing material properties
The potential of isothermal calorimetry in monitoring and predicting quality changes during processing and storage of minimally processed fruits and vegetables
No full textWe review the potential of isothermal calorimetry as an analytical tool to provide an integrated view of the effect of different processing steps on the quality and shelf life of minimally processed fruits and vegetables. Variations in processing operations involved in product development in the food industry are studied through a factory scenario to show the versatility of the technique in monitoring and predicting changes in quality of minimally processed horticultural products
Physico-chemical and metabolomic characterization of KAMUT® Khorasan and durum wheat fermented dough
No full textInvestigations were made in order to evaluate the influence of the flour type, chemical acidification and fermentation on characteristics of doughs obtained with durum wheat and KAMUT Khorasan flour. Doughs were observed immediately after mixing, 90 and 360 min of leavening at 30 C. Fundamental rheology, yeasts heat production by isothermal microcalorimetry and the interaction between water and biopolymers by means of time domain nuclear magnetic resonance were evaluated. In addition aromatic metabolite development was followed by means of the combined application of gas-chromatography and electronic nose. KAMUT Khorasan flour was found to be more suitable than durum wheat for the fermentation processes
tested, especially at acidic conditions, as shown by the increase of the volume and the metabolic heat production by yeast. In acidified dough the pattern of volatile metabolites allowed a clear distinction between the types of dough. Moreover the water/starch proton pool was characterized by higher T2 values in the KAMUT Khorasan samples
Study and optimization of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) to improve mass transfer and quality characteristics of candied green plums (Prunus mume)
No full textOsmotic dehydration (OD) is the most important procedure for producing candied green plums. This study investigated high hydrostatic pressure treatment (HHP) to improve OD process. Central composite design was applied to optimize HHP parameters with pressure ranging from 50 to 400 MPa and time from 1 to 30 min. Innovative HPP procedure was compared with traditional heating treatments on the acceleration efficiency by Peleg’s model. The physico-chemical and sensorial properties were compared. The results showed that HHP was effective to accelerate the OD process, but was not as efficient as heating methods. HHP promoted higher titratable acid content, firmness and greener color than heating on the obtained product. Sensory results revealed that HHP allowed to better preserve the typical odor and flavor of the final products. Generally, HHP treatments show high potentiality to improve the OD performances of candied green plums, together with the overall quality of the final product. Practical applications: Candied green plum is a popular snack in Eastern Asian countries. The traditional process includes a heating assisted treatment in order to accelerate the candying progress, which may induce decrease to the quality of the final product. Non-thermal high hydrostatic pressure could improve the osmotic dehydration process performances, minimizing the thermal damages on the final products, promoting the improvement of its overall quality
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